Chapter 8 Chapter Eight A Dynamite Explosion

The experiment the old foreman had predicted was a success.It is well known that primary hydrocarbons can only develop in coal seams.Therefore, there is no doubt that there is a vein containing valuable fuel.What is its importance and quality?There will be a conclusion in the future. This is what the engineer infers from what he has just observed.These conclusions and Simon.Ford had already reached the same conclusion. Yes, James.Behind this wall, Stahl thought, lies a carbonaceous layer that our detection has failed to reach!This is annoying because all the tools in the mine have been out of use for ten years and now they have to be redone!We've found a mine that people thought was exhausted, and this time, we're going to mine it to the end!

Well, Mr. James, Simon.Ford asked, how do you feel about what we found?I was wrong to bother you, right?Do you regret this last visit to Dochart Coal Bunker? No, no, my old companion!James.Starr replied that we hadn't wasted our time, but we would be wasting it now if we didn't get back to the cottage right away.We'll come back here tomorrow.We're going to blast this wall with dynamite.We're going to bring out new veins of outcropping, and then, after a series of surveys, if the seam appears to be of any importance, I'm going to rebuild a new Aberfoyle company to maximize the benefits of the old shareholders. They are satisfied!Within three months, the first buckets must be pulling coal from the new seam!

well said!Mr. James!Simon.Thereupon, exclaimed Ford, the old coal mine would be rejuvenated, like a widow remarried!With the movement of the pickaxe, the movement of the cross pick, the blasting of the mine, the driving of the truck, the neighing of the horse, the creaking of the bucket, and the roar of the machine, the busy scene of the past will begin again!Me, I will see it all!I hope, Mr. James, you don't think me too old to take up my foreman's duties again? No, brave Simon, no, never!You are still younger than me, my old chap! Then let Saint Mongol bless us!You will still be our audience!May the new mining last for many years, God willing, and it will be my consolation when I die!

The happiness of the old miner is beyond words.James.Starr shared all his joy, but he let Simon.Ford was excited for the two to be together. Only Harry continued to brood.The strange, inexplicable succession of circumstances surrounding the discovery of new deposits recurred in his memory.These things did not worry him about the future. An hour later, James.Starr and his two companions returned to the cottage. The engineer had a good appetite at supper, and nodded his head in agreement with all the plans the old foreman had detailed, wishing it were tomorrow, and he had never slept so well in this utterly peaceful cottage.

The next day, after eating a nutritious lunch, James.Starr, Simon.Ford, Harry, and Madge retook the road they had walked the day before.All go there like real miners.They carried all kinds of tools and cartridges with which to blast the last rock face.In addition to his very bright lantern, Harry also carried a huge security lamp that lasted twelve hours.In this way, on the way back and forth, including a few necessary breaks during the exploration, it is enough to light up, if there is a prospecting. Work, cried Simon, as he and his companions reached the end of the alley. He had a heavy crowbar in his hand, and he was swinging it vigorously.

Wait a minute, at this time, James."Let's check to see if there is no change at all, and whether the gas has been leaking through the thin layers of the rock wall," Starr said. You are right, Mr Starr, replied Harry, what was blocked yesterday will likely be blocked again today! Ma Deqi sitting on a rock is carefully observing the cave and the rock wall to be blasted. After observation, the situation is still the same as when they left.The cracks on the laminae did not undergo any modification.Primary hydrocarbons are still seeping, but in small quantities.There is no doubt that this is because it has found a passage to escape freely since last night.However, this diffusion is too weak to form an explosive mixture with the air in the cave.James.Stahl and his partners can thus act in absolute safety.What's more, the air here became purer after reaching the upper floors of Dochart's coal bunker, and the gas disappeared in such an environment, and it was impossible to cause any explosion.

Let's work!Simon.Ford said again. After a while, under the crowbar he fiddled vigorously, the rock was quickly broken into flying fragments. This vein fracture, like the usual outcrops of carbonaceous veins, is composed mainly of round conglomerate between sandstone and slate. James.Starr collected the tool-beaten debris and examined them carefully, hoping to find some signs of carbon. This first step lasted about an hour.From this it was evident that it was at a considerable depth at the end of the rock face. James.Starr then chose a location where he could drill the mine, and with Harry's hammerhead and sledgehammer【Note】, the work was quickly completed.Dynamite cartridges were stuffed into these holes.They had just put a long, tarred line of safety fuze in it and ignited it close to the ground, with a detonator at the end of the line.James.Starr and his buddies went into hiding.

【Note】A kind of hammer specially used for miners. ah!Mr. James, Simon.said Ford, overwhelmed with excitement, never, no, my old heart never beat so fast!I already want to launch an attack on the mine! Be patient, Simon, replied the engineer, don't you expect to find a wide opening behind this rock face? Forgive me, Mr. James.The old foreman replied, I have every possible extravagance!If luck had brought me and Harry to the seam, why didn't the luck continue to the end? The dynamite went off.A dull roar spread through the underground alley network and spread in all directions. James.Starr, Madge, Harry and Simon.Ford immediately resumed walking towards the cave wall.

Mr. James!Mr. James!cried the old foreman, look!The door is open! Simon.Ford's metaphor is confirmed by the appearance of a cave, the depth of which cannot be estimated. Harry is about to slip through the hole The engineer was greatly surprised to find that there was a cave here, which held the young miner. Wait a minute, let the air inside be purer, he said. right!Beware of carbon dioxide 【Note】!Simon.exclaimed Ford. 【Note】The name of the harmful gas in the coal mine. Waited for a quarter of an hour in anxiety.So a lantern, fastened to the end of a stick, was thrust into the cave, and it continued to burn without changing its brightness.

Go ahead, Harry, James.Starr said, we're after you. The opening opened by the dynamite is quite large enough for a person to pass through. Lantern in hand, Harry slipped in without hesitation and disappeared into the darkness. James.Starr, Simon.Ford and Madge waited motionless. A minute seemed like a long time to them.Harry didn't reappear, didn't shout.James.As Starr approached the opening, he no longer even saw his lamp, which was supposed to illuminate the dark cavern. Could the ground suddenly give way under Harry's feet?Did the young miner fall into a pothole?His voice can no longer reach his partner's ears?

The old foreman didn't want to hear anything, and was about to go in through the hole. At this moment, a ray of light appeared, which was dim at first, and then gradually brightened. Harry's voice also sounded: Come on, Mr. Starr!Come on, father!The new Aberfoyle road has been opened.